Re: Left-handers and learning

Phil Graham (pw.graham who-is-at student.qut.edu.au)
Thu, 11 Feb 1999 23:46:23 +1100

Thanks again Ilda,

I'll most definitely look up Beth and Ellen. Do they have a website, or
should I contact them via email. Also, do you know if are they taking into
account the potential social exclusion or bias factors that have been
brought up by our colleagues here?

It seems to me that most of neuroscience often ignores social factors, even
in regards to neural configuration/activity and "conceptual" thought. I'm
just reading Lakoff and Johnson at the moment. When I heard about their
book, I had been hopeful that socio-cultural influences might have found
their way into cog-sci. So far, it seems not.

Phil

At 07:36 11-02-99 -0500, you wrote:
>Phil,
>I wonder if the article meant that left handedness goes with risk taking?
That is
>something that Beth Casey and Ellen Winner are investigating, partly through
>genetic trees, looking for links between handedness and mixed dominance and
>dyslexia and ADD- hence the risk taking. Also finding highly individual and
>creative , etc. They are basing their work on Gallaburda, the
neuroscientist in
>Boston who worked on the brains of dyslexics. they are also investigating
spatial
>questions in particular.
>
>Ilda
>
>Phil Graham wrote:
>
>> This is like Matt. In fact, sometimes he gets confused when he does things
>> like hitting a tennis ball. He wants to hold the racquet one way (with his
>> left hand), but then wants to swing from a right-hander's forehand
>> perspective. The result is an interesting set of confused movements on
>> occasions, even though he's very well coordinated. He throws right-handed
>> (extremely accurately), but sometimes uses his left with equal accuracy but
>> less strength. He definitely writes left-handed and uses his left hand for
>> most intricate activities.
>>
>> It's really an eye-opener to see how he manipulates space.
>>
>> Thanks for the other comments, Anthony, Ken, & Daniel.
>>
>> I find it hard to believe that left-handedness and addiction go together
>> and will read the research with interest. At any rate, as a dry alcoholic
>> and a former addict of various stripes, it'd be hard to say - if my child
>> turned out to be an addict, which I hope with all my heart he doesn't -
>> whether it was due to his left handedness, my (apparently) inbuilt
>> proclivities passed on genetically (alcoholism runs on both sides of mine
>> and my ex-wifes families), or his social environment.
>>
>> Phil
>>
>> At 21:56 10-02-99 -0500, you wrote:
>> >Oh boy. Now you've got me thinking. My almost-6 year old is ambi. I
don't
>> >mean "hasn't developed a preference", I mean ambi. He writes
right-handed,
>> >eats left-handed (actually fork left-handed and chopsticks right-handed),
>> >colors both-handed but more often right, ties his shoelaces exactly mirror
>> >image from the way I do it (I'm a rightie), switch-hits......
>> >
>> >Tane Akamatsu
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Phil Graham wrote:
>> >
>> >> Does anyone know much about differences in the ways left-handed people
>> >> learn stuff (indeed, do they learn fundamentally differently? Does it
have
>> >> anything to do with left-right handedness ? I dunno ...). I ask
because I
>> >> watched a small triumph as my son Matt (6) finally learned to tie his
>> >> shoelaces.
>> >>
>> >> When he managed to do it, the way he did it was not only completely
swapped
>> >> around from left to right from the way I had continually shown him, but
>> >> also from front to back. Watching him overcome a relatively large
obstacle,
>> >> it dawned on me how completely differently from me he interprets suff
>> >> spatially. I've noticed differences before, but this particular instance
>> >> really exaggerated the different way he sees stuff to me and the other
>> >> right-handers he's surrounded by.
>> >>
>> >> Phil
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Phil Graham
>> >> pw.graham who-is-at student.qut.edu.au
>> >> http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/8314/index.html
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> Phil Graham
>> pw.graham who-is-at student.qut.edu.au
>> http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/8314/index.html
>
>
Phil Graham
pw.graham who-is-at student.qut.edu.au
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/8314/index.html